1. Field
The present invention is directed to use of resources for searches and, more particularly, to associating a resource with at least one category or keyword and making the resource available for subsequent searches associated with the category or keyword.
2. Description of the Related Art
Although the increasing amount of information that has become available over the Internet has led to the development of various resources such as search engines, Internet directories, etc. that may be utilized to obtain information, locating desired information requires knowledge of resource(s) capable of returning relevant results in response to a search. Aside from the complexity of formulating a search query or keyword for retrieving information using a particular resource, a user must have knowledge of and locate the particular resource to utilize the resource for the search. However, current search environments do not provide users with information about resources best suited for returning information pertaining to a particular subject matter, category or keyword desired by the users.
Even after a user locates resources that may be suited for a search related to a category or keyword(s), the user must remember which resource(s) produced relevant results for the category or keyword(s) to subsequently refer to the resource(s). Without the user independently providing the resources, other users must independently determine suitability of a resource(s) and locate the resource(s) for a search. Specifically, known methods for sharing of resource(s) among users are at most ad hoc, i.e., e-mails between friends and colleagues which may contain “favorites” or “bookmarks”, or a list of links for further research on a website and ordinarily each user independently determines the value of resource(s) for returning results pertaining to a given subject matter.
Locating resources for searches is even more difficult for users of portable devices such as cellular phones because multiple searches may be required to determine which resources are capable of returning desired information, requiring the users to repeatedly interact with and view contents resulting from the searches. Cellular phone users are sometimes frustrated by the limited display capability and awkward input methods of cellular phones, which further complicates searches when using a cellular phone and other similar devices.
Although various types of resources are available for locating information via the Internet, there is a need for a method and system for efficiently sharing and accessing resources among users.